Oliver Tarvet vs Carlos Alcaraz Tips, Predictions and Bet Builder

English qualifier Oliver Tarvet will be the centre of attention at Wimbledon on Wednesday when he takes on No.2 seed and two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in a must-see second round clash.

The 21-year-old from St Albans, a wildcard into qualifying, looked right at home on his Grand Slam debut when beating another qualifier, Switzerland's Leandro Riedi, in straight sets.

But taking care of the world No.506 on an outside court is one thing. Taking on the five-time major winner and world No.2 Alcaraz is quite another.

Oliver Tarvet vs Carlos Alcaraz Tips Summary

Market	Tip	Odds
Match Result	Carlos Alcaraz	1/100
Best Bet	Player Games Won - Oliver Tarvet Over 9.5	5/6
Bet Builder	First set - Over 8.5 Games, 5+ Match Double Fault, Five-setter - No	9/5

Key Match Stats

• Oliver Tarvet is playing just his second Grand Slam match

• Carlos Alcaraz has won five major titles, including Wimbledon twice

• Alcaraz has got past round two in 13 of his last 14 Grand Slams

• Tarvet had a first serve win percentage of 90 against Riedi

• Alcaraz conceded 21 break points against Fognini - Tarvet offered up none against Riedi

Oliver Tarvet vs Carlos Alcaraz Prediction

Best Bet: Player Games Won - Oliver Tarvet Over 9.5 @ 5/6

University of San Diego star Tarvet said before he flew back into England for Wimbledon qualifying that he was confident of beating anyone, and he has been good to his word.

The 21-year-old saw off a trio of much higher-ranked players in qualifying to get into the main draw and then, on Monday, he comfortably beat Leandro Riedi 6-4 6-4 6-4 on his All England Club debut to set up this tantalising clash with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.

That performance alone will have added to the world No.719's belief that he can play on grass and can beat supposedly better players.

And surely Tarvet will also have been buoyed by Alcaraz's struggles to get past veteran Fabio Fognini in his opener, eventually winning 7-5 6-7 7-5 2-6 6-1.

The Spaniard's class told in the end and Fognini remains a classy opponent even in the autumn of his career, and Alcaraz will doubtless come on for the run.

But the idea that he somehow blows Tarvet off the court seems illogical. The Brit is ranked where he is because he is still at college and clearly has a game a lot better than the numbers say.

Against Riedi his ground strokes were immaculate and his serve a clear weapon, winning 90 percent of his first-serve points.

Alcaraz will return better than Riedi - though the world No.2 won only 39 percent of return points against Fognini.

But Tarvet, while unlikely to have the match nous to produce one of the championship's great upsets, can at least detain the Spaniard if the youngster's serve holds up.

A tiebreak isn't out of the question; winning over 9.5 games looks like a great play.

Steve Davies says:

A 6-3 6-4 6-3 defeat for Tarvet sounds like a hammering but would land the over 9.5 games won bet - and he is better than that anyway.

Oliver Tarvet vs Carlos Alcaraz Bet Builder Tip

• First set - Over 8.5 Games

• 5+ Match Double Faults

• Five-setter - No

  
  Pays 9/5

In last year's run to the title, Alcaraz was only involved in one match where the first set was completed in eight games or less, and that was in the final where he took the opener 6-2 against Novak Djokovic.

Indeed, in three of the previous six rounds he had been taken to a tiebreak in the first set and against Fognini on Monday he eventually took the opener 7-5.

Everything points to Alcaraz being a slow starter at Wimbledon so an opening set featuring over 8.5 games looks more than plausible and that can be the bedrock of our match Bet Builder.

Tarvet looks assured - the US college system toughens these young prospects up - but it's hard to believe there won't be a few nerves, manifesting themselves in the odd double fault.

He only had one against Riedi but can up that number while Alcaraz will doubtless drop from the nine he threw down against Fognini. Five or more doubles between them, however, looks reasonable.

Romantics would love to see this shootout go the distance. Common sense, however, says that the Spaniard clicks long before a fifth set is required.

Learn more about how Bet Builders work in our Bet Builder guide.

Steve Davies says:

Take Tarvet to start strong, get the crowd on his side but Alcaraz's class should ensure the dream ends here for the young Brit.

Read more tennis betting tips and predictions on site

Tactics and Form

Tarvet heads into this round two showdown with the defending champion in rock-solid form.

In three of his four matches played so far - three in qualifying and his first-round tie against Riedi - he has registered straight-set wins.

His first-serve performance against Riedi on Monday was exceptional - he won 90 percent of points on his first serve - and the Swiss, a finalist at the Surbiton Trophy, is clearly no mug on grass.

Neither, of course, is Alcaraz as the reigning two-time champion, who is on a 19-match winning streak including victory at the French Open.

He then looked good at Queen's - the only two sets he dropped were tiebreaks - and under real pressure against Fognini on Monday came through eventually.

View the full market and more odds for Oliver Tarvet vs Carlos Alcaraz on site.

This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.